About Dale Chihuly

Since the late 1960s, Dale Chihuly has been revolutionizing the art and craft of glassblowing, concocting dynamic, flamboyant, color-saturated forms that push this ubiquitous material far beyond utilitarian ends, including his signature, massing chandeliers. His works, seen across the U.S. and worldwide, include individual pieces ranging from undulating, nested vessels to whimsical sea creatures, and encompassing architectural installations. He bases his multidisciplinary approach upon teamwork, with up to 18 people working at a time, and draws from architecture and design, painters and sculptors, Native American baskets, and nature. As Chihuly describes, in terms reflecting his egalitarian attitude: “My feeling is that it doesn't make any difference if the work is called art or craft or design…If they go into the museum, which has everything from native masks to painting, these objects become equals—one really isn't more important than another.”